Vol 2 Chapter 46 – Eleonora Bratukhina【Vol 2 – The Condemned Knight Edition】

“You have done well to come, Natan.”

“Not at all. I would never dare disobey an order from Your Majesty, the King.”

As King Rei offered the perfunctory praise, the old man—Natan-san—bowed his head deeply.

King Rei probably thinks this is only natural, and Natan-san… he likely has his own feelings on the matter.

For some reason, my masochist-senses are tingling.

“Allow me to introduce you, Erik. This is Natan, the man I have tasked with improving public order in the Royal Capital.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Hero of Altruistic Charity. I am Natan Byutou.”

Natan-san introduced himself with a beaming smile.

Hmm… At first glance, the way he looks at me seems friendly enough… but there’s something in the depths of his eyes.

Something tells me that getting on his good side could lead to some very pleasant developments for me.

“I am told that during the rebellion of the treacherous Biriel, you served as the rearguard and protected the royal family. I can see why they call you Guardian.”

“You give me too much credit.”

I returned Natan-san’s broad smile with one of my own.

In reality, a title like ‘Guardian’ doesn’t suit me at all. I’d much rather be called ‘scum-sucking trash.’

“Now, regarding security in the Royal Capital… I would like to assign this person to you, Hero.”

At Natan-san’s words, a woman stepped forward.

She was a woman with a black bob cut, clad in imposing armor.

“While I have accepted the duty of improving the capital’s public order, it is thanks to this one here that the work is actually being carried out.”

“I see…”

Natan-san himself is large and doesn’t appear weak, but… well, he seems to be getting on in years, so I doubt he’s the one running all over the capital. Instead, his subordinate, this woman, is the one doing all the hard work, I suppose.

“I am Eleonora Bratukhina. For the improvement of the capital’s public order, and for the sake of justice, let us do our best together.”

“My name is Erik. And this is Miriam. It’s a pleasure to work with you.”

She offered her hand, and I extended mine to shake it.

Though she wore a massive suit of armor, her hand was slender and feminine.

Still, she seems like a woman with a very strong sense of justice…

This means she’s likely to throw herself into all sorts of situations in the name of crushing evil.

And I, following along with her, will also be exposed to danger…

Oh, I have high hopes for this.

“Eleonora… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before…”

Miriam muttered under her breath.

Does she know her?

“Very well. I hereby entrust the public order of the Royal Capital to you both. Serve with diligence.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Bratukhina-san and I knelt and replied to the king in unison.

And with that, a new order was given to us.

“Hmph… While I’m stuck in the Royal Castle receiving boring lessons, are you going to be doing something interesting, Erik? That’s not fair!”

Debora puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased.

“I will not be going on any adventures, so please rest assured.”

“Hmm… Well, I doubt there are any adventures in the Royal Capital that I’d enjoy anyway… I guess I can put up with it.”

Though she was grumbling with discontent, it seemed to still be just barely within her range of tolerance.

Debora brought her face close to mine and smiled mischievously.

“But if anything interesting happens, you have to report it to me. I’ll sneak out of my lessons and join in.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

“Hee hee, that’s a promise, okay?”

After pointedly reminding me, Debora left the Throne Room.

Ah… I’m already starting to miss her ‘explosions’… but this, too, cannot be helped.

I can only hope that some form of injustice awaits me in the Royal Capital.

◆

So this is the Hero of Altruistic Charity…

Eleonora looked at the gentle-faced man and murmured to herself.

Erik. The Hero of Altruistic Charity.

And he is to work alongside me for the sake of public order in the capital.

Natan-sama called him a great evil… but is that really true?

The great evil Natan had spoken of… could that truly be Erik?

What he had told her was that Erik was a ‘Berserker’ who reveled in battle and enjoyed hurting others.

If that were true, then Eleonora would have no choice but to condemn him.

A Berserker was, by definition, an affront to justice.

But she was also aware that Erik had a favorable reputation.

She had heard it from the people of the Royal Capital herself.

A reputation as a true hero, one who threw himself into harm’s way to help others without a single thought for his own safety.

Most recently, he was said to have undertaken the extremely perilous role of the rearguard to protect the royal family, and succeeded.

If that were true, then he was not a man who deserved condemnation. Rather, he could be considered a comrade, one who, like her, devoted his life to the cause of justice.

Until now, Eleonora had always trusted Natan’s words, destroying evil and enacting justice as he directed.

But when it came to Erik, she decided she would see for herself.

This mission to improve the capital’s public order… it will be my chance to ascertain what kind of man Erik-san truly is.

Eleonora resolved to use their coming mission to evaluate Erik.

If he proved to be a force for good, then they would continue to strive for justice together.

But if he proved to be a force for evil… then for the good of the world and its people, she would have to strike him down.

…Yes. This is by no means for my own sake.

“Bratukhina-san, shall we be going as well?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Instantly smoothing the twist from her lips, Eleonora turned and walked toward Erik, who had called out to her.